Used plastic: Genuine only with RAL Quality Mark
The RAL Quality Mark is the first independent quality mark that provides information about a product’s proportion of recycled plastic material obtained from the Yellow Bag or Yellow Bin. The reuse of production and industrial waste is expressly excluded in the RAL mark that reports percentage of recycled plastic in order to encourage the reuse of plastic material from household waste. The objectives for the quality mark are to give consumers the assurance that they are buying a truly resource-saving product and to boost acceptance of recycled products.
RAL Quality Mark supports the goals of the Recyclate Initiative
Werner & Mertz of Mainz, one of the founding members of the RAL Quality Mark, has been engaged in high-quality processing and recycling of used plastic from the Yellow Bag since it established the Recyclate Initiative in 2012. “We think the recycling or upcycling of used plastic from househould collections is the most effective approach to counteract the polluting of our planet with plastic,” said Alexander Schau, packaging developer at Werner & Mertz. “When plastic is kept in a closed loop, it is a highly sustainable material. The quality mark makes it possible for the consumer to recognise immediately what high-quality packaging is created from Yellow Bag material.” In addition to Werner & Mertz, other cooperation partners in the Recyclate Initiative, namely, The Green Dot, Alpla and honorary member NABU, also are members of the RAL quality association.
Extensive certification process for complete traceability
So that the portion of recyclates from the Yellow Bag in the packaging can be completely guaranteed, all the process steps – from sorting and reprocessing to the use of recyclates in individual products – are documented and inspected at all production sites. The audit at Werner & Mertz includes all the production sites for Alpla and Werner & Mertz (Mainz and Hallein) which are relevant for the product to be certified. Independent appraisers and technical experts contracted by the RAL quality association carry out the certification. Regular checks by the company itself and third-party inspections every two years ensure that the information provided is transparent.
The first step was an audit of the PE packaging from Werner & Mertz, which includes packaging from the brands emsal, green care Professional and the new shower gel bottle for Frosch Senses. In the next step the PET packaging will be validated.
